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01/04/2018

Holy bomb cyclone! Welcome to 2018! Well, what doesn’t kill us apparently makes us stronger, so goodbye 2017, thank you for the strength you have given us to take into the new year. Hello 2018, you can’t scare us with your bombogenesis. (Bombogenesis is not a made up word by the weather channel by the way. I wrongly accused them and I stand corrected. It is actually a word used often by meteorologists. Clearly I haven’t been paying attention.) Ok, so bombogenesis is a real thing and you can’t make it out of your home due to either the negative wind chill or a snow drift is preventing your front door to open. What do you do now? You make a bunch of crepes to stuff your face with of course! Happy New Year!

I have no idea why, but lately I have had a hankering for crepes. Odd, because I haven’t had a crepe in probably fifteen or twenty years, but maybe that’s why I want one. My father used to makes crepes in a proper crepe pan with orange sauce. Crepe suzette. I have never made them. They seemed… a bit daunting. I was happily surprised that they aren’t. (The crepe part, I don’t know about the suzette side of things.) After looking at some recipes, I mixed and matched what I thought was good. Some recipes called for butter, some called for oil. Some had water and milk, or just milk, a couple eggs or many. Some recipes call for the batter to rest, but I don’t see a need for it to rest, the crepes tasted perfect with no waiting.

The batter I ended up creating produced a delicate yet firm crepe. Perfect for a little jam or a dusting of sugar. It is always good to have a little sweetness to usher in the New Year. Enjoy.

12/18/2017

It is gift-giving time! You can’t show up to that holiday party empty handed! Give a present that says: I thoughtfully put this together for you. Happy (insert holiday here)! Joking aside, a nice basket of spices and herbs is a gift that many people would appreciate. You can also customize it to the person you are giving it to.

The reason I thought of this gift is due to my spice shelf being a mess. I have very little room on the three shelves and bottles are constantly falling off. It doesn’t help that my toddler loves “re-arrange” the one shelf she can reach. Re-arranging happens every few days with another jar broken or spilled.

The thought crossed my mind that I should start over and get new jars. New jars would fix everything! (It would be the catalyst for the organization my life needs!) So, I did some research and found some great spice jars that were inexpensive, sturdy, and looked nice. I had ordered some bulk spices in the fall and planned on just refilling the jars I had, but with new jars, they would all be the same size and would look a little more organized.

While I was in the process of researching the jars, I realized what a nice present this would make. Perfect for a hostess gift. Enough with giving cookies! Give a gift that keeps on giving. (Not trying to be cheesy, I swear.)

I bought the spiceluxe square 4oz bottles on Amazon. I liked them because they are square and fit more snugly than round ones. The jars come with silver stickers to write on, but if you didn’t want silver, you could buy the mudder fancy shape kraft paper stickers on Amazon.

Bulk spices are getting easier to find. I’m sure your supermarket has some. I bought a variety from Thrive Market. They were inexpensive and also organic.

To package your gift, I would find a nice basket and kitchen towel. Put a bow on it and enjoy! Happy gift-giving!

11/19/2017

Never fear the pie dough! It can be mastered. Yes, pie dough can seem like a daunting task, but with enough preparation anyone can make it. The trick is not to panic! When I first started making pies, I stressed too much about it. My experience has lead me to stay calm and set up all the ingredients in advance. I also have stopped making pie dough by hand. It is a good skill to have, but cutting butter with either a pastry knife or two knives, isn’t the quickest way of making it. I now make the dough in a food processor and that takes a lot of stress and time away. It is necessary for the butter to stay cold and working as quickly as possible helps ensure the butter doesn’t have time to warm up. Using a food processor cuts the time down significantly.

Once you get the hang of making this dough, you won’t ever need to look at the recipe. It will just be part of your repertoire. When people come over and eat your pies, they will remark on how flaky and wonderful the crust is. You will feel like a true baker. Have a fantastic Thanksgiving and enjoy!

Sift together 2 ¼ cups flour, salt and sugar. Keeping the remaining ¼ cup of the flour on hand if you need to adjust the dough later. (The sugar is optional. Some people like a bit of sweetness in the crust. I usually leave the sugar out since the fillings are sweet enough for me.)

A note on measuring flour: The most accurate way to measure flour is to spoon the flour into the measuring cup. (The handheld measuring cups not the glass pitcher types made for liquid) You spoon the flour into the measuring cup until it starts to overflow and then you level off the top with a knife. I almost never do this type of measuring because it takes too long for me. I scoop the measuring cup into the flour bag or flour container and make sure the flour is fluffed. Then I level it off with a knife. Essentially you don’t want to pack a measuring cup with flour because it will give you an incorrect measurement.

Once you have sifted the flour, salt and optional sugar, pour flour mixture into food processor.

Then, fill a small glass with two ice cubes and top with water.

Take butter out of the refrigerator and cut into small cubes. (If cutting the butter takes longer that expected, just pop the butter in the refrigerator for a few minutes to chill down.)

Place butter into food processor and pulse until the flour/butter mixture looks like coarse corn meal. There should be pea sized pieces of butter throughout.

Then start drizzling in the ice water while pulsing.

You have added enough water when the dough just starts to come together.

You should be able to squeeze some dough and have it stick together.

If you feel like you added too much water, add a tablespoon or two of flour.

Once you feel like you have the right consistency, spread a large piece of plastic wrap out on your counter or on a cutting board.

Pour out half of the dough in the middle of the plastic wrap.

Using the plastic wrap as an aid, smoosh the dough into a ball and then flatten into a disc.

Wrap the plastic around the disc.

Do the same with the other half of the dough.

Put both discs of flour in a freezer bag and put in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before rolling out.

You can make this several days ahead OR you can freeze it and defrost overnight.

If this dough is for Thanksgiving, I would make it at least two days in advance. Better to get it out of the way!

When you go to roll out the dough, don’t be worried that the dough is as hard as a rock. It will slowly warm up as you apply pressure and roll.

Roll out on a lightly dusted board.

When you have put the dough into the pie tin, pop the pie tin in the refrigerator before filling and baking. This will ensure the dough is nice and cold before baking.

11/12/2017

We still have leaves on the trees here. I find this amazing since it is almost the middle of November. But, I honestly can’t remember what the leaves did last year. Our region is past peak according to iloveny.com, but Long Island and NYC are just turning to peak, so get out there and enjoy!

In honor of the falling leaves and the season, I wanted to make a seasonal cookie. I bought a nice copper maple leaf cookie cutter and if I’m not going to use it now, when am I going to use it? I thought just a regular sugar cookie would be best and then I could jazz it up with an icing or decoration. After realizing I have no patience, I knew I wouldn’t be using a pastry bag to decorate the cookies. In a perfect world I would spend all afternoon producing beautiful iced cookies, good enough to sell behind glass, but in reality that was never going to happen. (One has to know their limitations.) I did want the cookies to have a maple syrup icing. After playing around with a royal icing, I couldn’t get the consistency right with the amount of maple syrup flavour I wanted. I also didn’t want to use an extract of maple syrup because well, I didn’t have any on hand. So I ended up (maybe out of frustration) just spooning maple syrup on the cookies and to my surprise, it worked out wonderfully. The syrup dried and left a pretty glaze and subtle maple flavour. Sometimes being impatient works out! (There is hope for me!) The cookies are sweet but not overly sweet as some iced cookies can be. They are perfect for a chilly afternoon with tea or coffee. Enjoy.

Maple Sugar Cookies

(Adapted from the Joy of Cooking)

Makes about 30 cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup white sugar

1 large egg

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

maple syrup, the darker the better

You want the butter to be soft, so if you are making the cookies in the afternoon set your butter out in the morning. If I make cookies in the morning, I put the butter out at night. (Provided that your room temperature isn’t too hot.)

Cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl. You can do this by hand or in a stand mixer. (Or with a hand mixer)

Beat in egg and vanilla extract.

Sift together baking powder, salt and flour.

Add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar.

Stir until all is combined.

Divide the dough into quarters.

Wrap each quarter in plastic wrap and mold into a disc. (This will help when you start rolling it out)

Refrigerate the dough until it’s firm.

Pre-heat oven to 350˚ F.

Line two cookie sheets with either parchment paper or a silpat or grease with butter.

Once dough is chilled, take out one disc at a time to roll out.

Roll cookie dough out to about ¼ inch thick.

Cut out cookies keeping scraps to re-roll.

Place on cookie sheet and bake for about 10-12 minutes.

(Bake one sheet of cookies at a time. Depending on your cookie cutter this could take one or several portions of dough. Keep any dough you aren’t using in the fridge.)

The cookies are done baking when they are honey coloured with light toasted edges.

11/05/2017

I have a lot of summer corn in my freezer. What can I make with it? Hmm….. maybe, succotash? The first thing that comes to my mind when I say that word is: “suffering succotash!”. Sylvester the cat would use this phrase when he couldn't catch Tweety bird. But what is succotash and where did that phrase come from? Have I had succotash? Is it good?

For starters, “suffering succotash”, is a euphemism for the vulgar expression: “suffering savior”. When was “suffering savior” used as a curse word? As far as I can gather, it was before the turn of the century. Succotash as a replacement for savior, like most euphemisms for curses, makes no sense and has nothing to do with actual succotash.

The genesis of the word succotash is from the Native American Narragansett language and it's a Native American dish. Like most Native American dishes, the pilgrims were taught how to make succotash. It was a filling meal that no doubt helped the pilgrims and colonists get through rough winters.

Over the years succotash took on many versions, some with milk and creams, others with meat. As it moved down south, different vegetables were used, but the basis has always been sweet corn and a bean. Lima beans seem to be the most traditional. (Lima beans!) Now, don’t freak out because it has lima beans. Have you had lima beans in awhile? You will like them. Especially when they are sautéed in butter.

Succotash is a wonderful dish and I can’t believe I have never made it. It’s a lovely way to use corn and all the other end of summer vegetables. My toddler loved the lima beans. She loves corn, but she went crazy for the lima beans. (Who knew?)

This dish is excellent along side poultry, meat or fish. It would be great as a side dish for your Thanksgiving meal. (And will be on our table this year.) Food historians agree that succotash was part of the first Thanksgiving in 1621. Original! You can’t beat that. Enjoy.

Succotash

serves 4 as a side dish

1 cup sweet corn kernels, frozen or fresh

1 cup lima beans, shelled, frozen or fresh

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

½ pint cherry tomatoes, cut into halves

1 medium zucchini, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped or 1 cup mixed sweet small peppers, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

pinch dried oregano

salt and pepper

In a large skillet, cast iron preferable, melt the butter in the oil on med-low heat.

Add the onion and sauté until onions are softened.

Add the garlic.

Sauté until garlic is fragrant and then add all the remaining vegetables.

06/27/2017

The summer season is upon us. And I know I always say this, but summertime = cocktail time! It’s time to relax, breathe in the sweet night air, watch the fireflies and the sun set against the hills. It's time to tend the garden and find some ingredients for our lovely cocktails. And I am happy to report that my garden is finally growing! Mostly growing unassisted, but growing nonetheless. I have many perennials that come up on their own and I am always thankful when they do. I appreciate anything that can self-manage.

Mint is one of those plants that can grow with little to no help. It is always one of the first ones to push their eager leaves through the wet spring soil. And if you have ever planted mint, I am sure you know that mint likes to spread itself. It sends its runners (roots) through the ground causing the mint pop up in random places. I welcome this aggressive behavior because I have some spare spots in the garden to fill. The mint also has had a predator for many years: the four lined bug. It's a battle to eradicate the bug, so I let the mint have its way in the spring and early summer, because by late summer, when the mint gets leggy and less full by its nature, I tend to stop spraying my soap spray and the bugs end up doing a lot of damage. So mint-go forth! Spread your runners as far as they can run.

Now that we have established I have a lot of mint (and mostly only mint), what cocktail can be made? A mint julep of course! Oh, mint julep, how I love thee… your simplicity, your minty loveliness.

When I first made a mint julep, I thought something was missing. “That’s it?” I thought to myself. Followed by: “That’s essentially straight bourbon”… “They drink these during the day?”… “Maybe I should move to the south”. But all kidding aside, the drink only has five elements. 1) The Cup, 2) Bourbon, 3) Mint, 4) Ice and 5) Sugar. It doesn’t get any easier or fresher tasting. So grab a glass and mix up this classic for a sultry summer night. You won’t be disappointed. Enjoy.

A note on the cup:

The most traditional way to serve a mint julep is in a silver mint julep cup. Unless you have a set in your family, you will have to put up a small fortune to buy some. I looked in vain for some vintage silver cups and I did find some, but they were just too expensive. There are some nice pewter cups, but they were pricey too. And then I thought about the stainless steel cups we already have and figured those would work out just as well and they did! They look like a modern take on the classic mint julep cup. I bought mine on amazon- but you may find them being offered in other places.

MINT JULEP

makes 1 cocktail

2 oz bourbon

½ - 1 teaspoon sugar

sprigs of mint

crushed ice

Muddle mint and sugar on the bottom of a glass.

You want to crush the mint, but try not to break the mint.

Add bourbon and then crushed ice. (You can use regular ice, but crushed ice is the traditional way to serve a Mint Julep. If you can’t buy any, just put some ice in a ziplock bag and whack it with a rolling pin. In a minute you will have some crushed ice.)

05/27/2017

Ahhh.. the start of the summer season. We made it! It actually came! I know I always wax poetic about this time of year, but it’s always with good reason. How can one smell the perfume of lilacs or lily of the valley and not feel some joy and hope? I could start blithering about renewal and rebirth, but before I get ahead of myself here, let’s talk about ice cream sandwiches!

Maybe you haven’t had an ice cream sandwich in awhile? I remember them fondly... the dark chocolate cookie that was always a bit soft, giving way to icy ice cream and after a couple of bites, a few licks, it was gone too soon. I used to love them, but I always felt a tiny bit unsatisfied at the end. Was it over too quickly? Was the cookie too soft? Was it something else? Can I think philosophically about an ice cream sandwich?

At any rate, I determined it would be nice to make my own. It’s just cookies and ice cream right? I think I can manage that!

I did two combinations, but obviously make as many as you want. The combinations were: Chocolate chip cookies/vanilla ice cream and vanilla cookies/strawberry ice cream. The vanilla cookies are the same recipe as the chocolate chip cookies sans chocolate chips. (I have to keep it easy!)

These sandwiches would be a fun activity for children. You can make them large or small. You could go crazy and roll the sides in sprinkles or nuts. The point is, they are easy to make and fun to make your own. Not to mention so good! Enjoy. Happy Memorial Day!

Ice Cream Sandwiches

You will need:

Chocolate Chip cookies

Vanilla Cookies

Vanilla Ice Cream

Strawberry Ice Cream

A note about the ice cream: please use a full fat ice cream like Haagen Dazs or Ben and Jerry’s. These ice creams are dense and can stand up to the robustness of the cookie. (Fun Fact!: Haagen Dazs is a name made up by the owner. It is essentially gibberish but is supposed to sound like Danish. )

03/31/2017

I love frittatas because, like most egg dishes, they are easy. They take a bit of forethought, but not much. Also, this dish, unlike basic egg dishes, can be served whenever you like. There is no hollering of: “Your eggs are almost done!”, “Your eggs are ready!” or “Your eggs are getting cold!”. Frittatas can sit and be patient for your sleepy guests to arrive to the table. Frittatas don’t mind waiting. They also can be reheated the next day and are very portable. Breakfast now can be lunch the next day. And wouldn’t be nice not to worry about lunch for once?

Frittatas are also very flexible. They will just take whatever you give them. Like a good friend, they will stand by you when you decide to use up the broccoli from last night’s dinner and some sad scallions you just realized were in the fridge. They happily bake those items into their eggy beings and won’t give you any grief.

I used a small cast iron pan for this, since it was just for me and my side-kick toddler. Cast iron skillets are key for frittatas. Here is a pan just like the one I used: Cast Iron 8" Pan If I haven’t gone on and on about cast iron yet, I will at some point. So right now I will be brief about it. Cast iron skillets are a necessity in the kitchen. They work tirelessly and take a lot of abuse for little upkeep. If you don’t have any, buy yourself some today. A small set will be less than $40. It’s worth it, believe me, and you will have them forever. Now, let's get cooking! Enjoy!

Spinach, Tomato and Cheddar Frittata

serves 2 or 2 ½

6 eggs

1 cup (packed) fresh spinach, chopped

5 grape tomatoes, chopped

½ small onion, diced

3oz cheddar, large dice

2 tablespoons olive oil

milk

salt and pepper

8” cast iron skillet

Preheat oven to 350*F

Add oil to pan and set on med-low heat.

Add onions and sauté until they are a bit soft.

Add the spinach and tomatoes to pan.

Sauté mixture until onions are soft and tomatoes and spinach are cooked down. (Most of the water has been taken away)

While the veggies are cooking down, beat eggs with a little milk.

Add a pinch of pepper and salt to the eggs.

Once the veggies are ready, pour the eggs into the hot pan and keep the pan on med/low heat. Give a light stir to incorporate the veggies and eggs.

Cook for several minutes to set the bottom. You don’t want the bottom to scorch, so keep the heat in check.

Once you feel the bottom is set, (top won’t be cooked at all) sprinkle the cheese evenly over the eggs and put the pan into the oven.

Cook until the eggs are set and don’t jiggle, about 20-25 minutes.

For a quick test, just pierce into the frittata with a knife to see if any eggs are still liquid.

03/14/2017

Winter in New England, it’s not over until it’s over. With spring less than a week away, a blizzard is upon us. Why couldn’t this have happened two months ago? Oh well… Let’s make the most of it shall we! French onion soup for everyone! Wheeee!

My love for French onion soup runs deep. I feel romantic about this soup. There are just so many aspects to love, but basically it is simple and delicious. I always try to keep the ingredients on hand in-case we don’t have anything in the fridge for dinner. This isn’t hard since the ingredients are mostly pantry items and I must say that I make this soup often. (Essentially all the time)

It is perfect for a cozy casual night or a special evening. It’s great for a crowd. It’s covered with bread and melted cheese. Do I really need to do a hard sell on this one? Ok: 1) It is snowing. 2) It’s cold. 3) You only have onions in the house. 4) You want to impress your date with little effort. 5) You love cheese. (Is this enough?) You will love it. Enjoy-

P.S. This is Julia Child’s recipe with some slight changes.

French Onion Soup

serves 6-8

1 ½ lbs or about 5 cups yellow onions, sliced

3 Tablespoons butter

1 Tablespoons oil

¼ Teaspoons sugar

3 Tablespoons flour

2 quarts beef stock

½ cup white wine (or dry vermouth)

rounds of toasted baguette or other dense bread

1 to 2 cups grated swiss

salt and pepper to taste

bay leaf (optional)

thyme (optional)

Slice bread or baguette. Make sure you use dense bread or the bread will fall apart too easily in the soup.

Dry the bread either by putting it on a baking sheet in a 325 degree oven for thirty minutes or just in a toaster oven. You want to dry the bread more than toast it.

Prep the bread while you are cooking the onions.

When the bread is done, you can rub some garlic on it. (If you feel like it)

02/13/2017

Eeek, it’s Valentine’s Day! Again?! How did that happened? Are you trying to figure out last minute what to make since you didn’t make reservations? If your sweetie loves chocolate, make this. It’s decadent, delicious and perfect for a special night. It only takes a few minutes to put together and less than 10 minutes to bake. Hoorah!

A few notes: This recipe (courtesy of the NY Times), is for a cake that is plated. You essentially gingerly un-mold the cake by inverting the ramekin on plate. I, personally, can’t handle the pressure of the cake getting stuck and then ripping apart, so I kept the cake in the ramekin. (The cute ramekins made that decision even easier.) So don’t sweat it if you don’t want to shake out those little cakes. Enjoy!

Chocolate Lava Cakes

Serves four

½ cup unsalted butter, plus extra for buttering

4oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate

4 eggs

¼ cup sugar

2 teaspoons flour, plus extra for dusting

pinch of salt

4 4oz ramekins

Pre-heat oven to 450°.

Melt chocolate, butter, and salt together. If you aren’t using chocolate chips, chop up the chocolate in small pieces.

Add two eggs into a bowl or mixer. Divide the other two eggs and retain the yolks. Add the yolks to the other eggs.

Add sugar and beat until mixture is light and thick.

Add egg mixture and 2 teaspoons of flour to the melted chocolate and mix until combined.

Butter the ramekins well and then flour. Tap out any excess flour.

Divide the batter between the ramekins. (You could fill them during the day and then bring them to room temperature before baking.)

Place ramekins on a rimmed baking tray and bake for 7-9 minutes.

The cake will puff a little and the middles shouldn’t be set. (Hence the lava)

Once the cake cools for a minute, you could try to invert the ramekin on a plate to un-mold the cake. Or don’t and leave in the ramekin.